How it all started

Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine being in the tourism industry, or even starting a company that had traveling as its core. I was a bachelor’s and master’s in Political Science, and I worked in the Public and Governmental sectors early on in my career. I always enjoyed traveling but I never thought it would become my future. But everything was about to change in 2009 when the seeds of passion and innovation first spread in one of the world’s most magical cities, Barcelona.

I had the opportunity to visit Barcelona in November 2009 with my husband, while I was pregnant with my first daughter, Matilde. We were celebrating my husband’s birthday, and we decided the best way to do so was by fully discovering the city. Barcelona is electric. Its energy rests in the creative winds that move through flamboyant buildings and the Duende found in the flamenco dancers. Everything here moves. But perhaps, on this occasion, the thing that stuck out the most to me was the chance to tour the city in a double-decker Hop-on Hop-off bus. It was fun, easy, and informative—an ideal way to explore the city. The commentary was spot-on, and we got to enjoy the best sights from the top of this vibrant red bus. I clearly remember switching languages to hear how the narrative changed, my eyes filling with wonder as I realized how amazing this product was.

My husband turned to me. Then, the question that would determine our futures came. Why don’t we have this type of service in Cartagena or Miami? 

This question played in our minds as we continued our journey through the Med aboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of The Seas. Without knowing it we were then embarking on what would be the next piece of the puzzle: our key client, and now, the industry we work in. It’s funny how things work out, right? 

Back in Colombia, after this wonderful trip, we started our plan. We had to become Hop-on Hop-Off experts. Where were those buses headquartered? Could we get a franchise? Where could we even build the buses? And like that, our whole business began. We had to build everything from the ground up. No regulations, nothing to follow. 

It started with endless meetings with city authorities just to explain the concept. I often say that starting a Hop-on Hop-off service in a new city is difficult because these buses become so iconic they quickly turn into city projects. Imagine driving through a city and spotting a colorful double-decker bus—it sparks city-wide conversations. 

After endless meetings in Colombia and Miami, we were able to launch our project in March 2011. We started with Cartagena, Colombia, and that was tough. We had some pushbacks from the local tour union, as they saw our company as a threat to their tours. I do understand their concerns, however, I believe there’s room for everyone. Competition drives us to improve, benefiting tourists and the destination. 

While we faced union problems in Cartagena, in Miami the unforeseeable challenges were about to come afloat and give us a harsh lesson in humbleness. 

We signed a partnership with a well-established company from Barcelona to implement the project in Miami. But between building the project and launching it, regulations changed. In early 2013, we imported 8 double-decker buses from the UK, but they couldn’t leave the port due to new environmental regulations. Then came a real setback: we lost our down payment on the UK buses, and our Spanish partner decided to go their own way and launch independently in Miami. We were left with two choices: give up or continue alone, without the buses and the significant investment already made.

I wasn’t sure if it was a lost cause, but I knew we weren’t giving up. After a few months of reconsideration, we decided to move forward with Miami. We invested all our funds into four poorly maintained buses. We thought we were getting decent buses, not new, but in good shape. Time was against us, and we knew big players were launching the same product in Miami. We pushed to launch quickly, knowing the first to hit would have the edge. But we didn’t get our buses in time, and our competitors beat us to the market.

Citysightseeing Miami, our open-top double-decker company, was the second to enter the market. We had cutting-edge ideas, but horrible buses. We had to deal with this problem for months, and we had to bring people from overseas to be able to fix them. In the end, we managed to solve this problem. It took us two years to rise to the top and take over 50% of the market, in particular over our favorite client: cruise lines. 

There’s this way I like to describe it. Imagine this. Three new burger places just opened, McDonald’s, Burger King, and ours… Paquito’s. We didn’t have the resources the others did, but we had something game-changing: efficiency and creativity. Our ambitious, entrepreneurial spirit drove everything, and that’s how we built a successful company from the ground up.

By 2015, we were offering Hop-on Hop-off tours to all the major cruise lines in the Miami and Florida area, mainly debark tours. I loved greeting our guests every Thursday and Friday at the port. There are so many stories from that time—perhaps I’ll share them one day. From being a tour guide to handling luggage and everything in between, starting a company means taking on many roles. It was hectic, but fun.

In 2016, we decided to go all-in on the cruise industry. My husband had the idea to go global, and we concentrated on growing our business from the HoHo (Our fun name for the Hop-on Hop-off tours) tours to many unique products. Initially in fifteen destinations, now in +140. What a ride.

I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed telling you about it. Stay tuned for more.